Kenya's The Star and China Daily Sign Content Sharing Agreement

 Kenya's The Star published on 17 July 2025 an article titled "The Star Signs Content Sharing Deal with China Daily Africa" by Eliud Kibii.

China Daily, which is controlled by the Communist Party of China, signed a deal with Kenya's The Star to share content.  Once a week, The Star with average daily circulation of 100,000 will include an insert prepared by China Daily.  The editorial director of The Star's parent company said, "China is a major geopolitical player, and we're glad to be part of telling its story in Africa."

China's Information Campaign in Africa

 The Diplomat published on 23 October 2024 a commentary titled "China's Battle for Narratives in Africa" by Samir Bhattacharya and Yuvvraj Singh, both with India's Observer Research Foundation.  

China has built narratives to its advantage in Africa, a region that has increasingly become a theater of great power rivalry.  China's information strategy in Africa consists of three parts.  First, it hosts and trains numerous African media professionals each year, teaching them to promote Chinese investments as a positive force.  Second, China invests in local African media outlets, influencing their editorial practices to align with the Chinese narrative.  Third, China sells technology to African governments that enables tighter control over digital information, including blocking websites and shutting down internet access.  

China's Strategy to Shape Africa's Media Space

 The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 16 April 2024 an analysis titled "China's Strategy to Shape Africa's Media Space" by Paul Nantulya.

The author describes a global strategy by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to gain influence in developing countries by shaping their information environments.  This raises concerns about the effect that China's heavy media penetration is having on shaping public perceptions in ways that promote Chinese interests even when they undermine African citizen interests.  

Thousands of African journalists participate annually in media exchanges in China.  Money is the key; Chinese media entities support many African media houses struggling with poor equipment, low salaries, and tight budgets.  Nevertheless, the author concludes the effectiveness of Chinese messaging is mixed.  

China's Media Influence in Africa

 Japan Forward published on 8 June 2022 an article titled "'Manage the Globe': China Funds African Media, Digital Space for Direct Influence" by Monika Chansoria.

The article summarizes China's efforts to manage media messaging in Africa by investing in government run radio, television, and print media and training African journalists.

China Parrots Russian Propaganda on War in Ukraine to Africa and Middle East

 The New York Times published on 11 April 2022 an article titled "China's Echoes of Russia's Alternate Reality Intensify Around the World" by Paul Mozur, Steven Lee Myers, and John Liu.

Government-controlled Chinese media are making a special effort to disseminate Russian propaganda and falsehoods about the war in Ukraine to audiences around the world, including Africa.  

Africa, China, and the US: Working Together

China Daily published in its 31 October - 6 November 2014 edition a commentary I wrote titled "Economic Shake-up Needs Joint Effort."  It looks at Chinese and American aid and investment in Africa in the context of the Ninth African Development Forum held in Morocco in mid-October.

China Daily Commentary on China-Africa

China Daily (Africa edition) ran an article titled "Mutual Benefit" about China-Africa relations on 21 December 2012 by Andrew Moody and Zhong Nan. A government-financed paper, it is not surprising that the China Daily article emphasizes the positive aspects of the China-Africa relationship.

It contains my reaction to a statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton more than a year ago that equated China's actions in Africa to those of neo-colonialism. I urged that the United States and China identify issues in Africa where the two countries could cooperate.